MOONLIGHT Looks Good on Jason Dohring

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Jason Dohring a few times over the past few years, and let me tell you…it doesn’t get old. I find Jason one of the most captivating actors on the small screen today, and was beyond excited when I learned this summer that he was cast in MOONLIGHT, the intriguing vampire drama on CBS.

Earlier this week I, along with a few other reporters, had the opportunity to talk to Jason about his role as Josef Konstantin and got a little insight on how he’s taking to his new role and his new life on a big network series. Jason (and Josef) has his biggest role to date on the series tonight (airing at 9/8c on CBS), and we’ll learn a little more about what makes this young but old vampire tick.

Best known for his role as Logan Echolls on the dearly departed VERONICA MARS (a moment of silence please), Jason Dohring has gone from the bratty rich kid with a good heart to a 400 year old vampire always on the hunt for blood in CBS’s MOONLIGHT. In doing so he also went from a much beloved, yet underwatched show to a big network gig that has more than four times the amount of viewers as Veronica Mars…and it isn’t lost on Dohring. “It’s a much bigger show,” Dohring said. “When I got there I could tell that the cast is bigger and everything. We shoot in on the same stage that East of Eden and Streetcar Named Desire were shot on. It’s the same stage and there’s so much history there. And it’s not three hours away (Veronica Mars was filmed in San Diego). You just feel it’s bigger, because you get this big comfy trailer and stuff like that.”

Lauding the dedicated fans of VM, Dohring finds it interesting how many more viewers his new show can get, just by doing the same thing – showing up to work and doing your best. And although he hasn’t left his VM fans behind, Dohring is excited about his new fan base, “The fans are unbelievable on this show. It was probably for Veronica in general, because we got nominated for this People’s Choice award, but two of the other nominees have Veronica cast members as well. So maybe the fans are just pushing the button over and over to get us nominated, which is unbelievable. When I was originally shooting Veronica I didn’t know anybody was watching. It was cool to go on a mall tour and see all these fans and think ‘Wow, people are actually watching it.”

So what’s it like for Jason to be the youngest member of the MOONLIGHT cast and yet play someone hundreds of years older than his co-stars? “That’s the hardest part for me,” he says. “It’s funny to see Alex, who is my mentor in real life and he’s such a cool guy. It’s funny that I have to own him, so to speak. I’m [as Josef] taking him under my wing and he’s the guy I’m leading through the story. I’m starting to get what that’s like. That was the hardest part for me at the start, getting the feeling that he is the oldest guy. So I’m starting to work with that and I apologize to fans because I feel that’s missing but I’m working on it.”

When I asked how he prepares to play a 400 year old hedge fund filthy rich vampire, Jason told me that he is starting to really get a feel for Josef. “I’m starting to get how Josef walks, and how he sits. [Vampire] are a little more graceful and aware of their movements. It’s all about how you want to be perceived.”

Jason isn’t shy about his adoration for his co-stars, especially Alex O’Loughlin who plays the vampire Private Investigator, Mick St. James. Jason credits Alex with helping him to get the role, “I had to go through network, the studio and then [my first] screen test, with full wardrobe, full makeup and then shoot the scene. It was really cool, and Alex was such a sweetheart, he was really looking at me when I was doing my stuff, then smiled at me when he was off camera. He walked me right into the role. And it seems the two have become off screen buds as well. Jason and his wife will be spending New Year’s with O’Loughlin in Australia. And as for Sofia Myles who plays Beth, well Jason tells us that she’s very funny and that some of their off-screen chemistry has influenced the onscreen scenes between Josef and Beth. “Yeah, Sophia is so funny, she’s from London, and she’ll make lewd references while onset that are very, very funny while we’re shooting. I like their edgy relationship, we’ll see how that keeps going”

But despite how well they get along in real life, there’s some palpable tension between Josef and Beth, and tonight’s episode, the biggest episode Dohring has had to date, might give us a glimpse into that mystery. Jason tells us that “you find out there’s a personal reason that Josef hates that Mick and Beth are together. You see an experience that somewhat justifies his behavior toward Mick and Beth.”

When I asked him about what he knows about any of Josef’s future storylines, the talk of course turned to the WGA strike. He mentions that in the last new episode filmed, Josef meets a fellow vampire that makes him look like a pauper, and that there is a cliffhanger which involves Josef, but beyond that he’s not sure. As for his thoughts on whether or not the show will return after the WGA strike, Dohring is hopeful, “I have to speak for myself but I feel like our ratings are pretty strong and our fans are unbelievable. I think we’re one of two shows that showed improvement in the ratings, which is obviously a very good sign. And I think the fact that Les Moonves talking about a second season is very hopeful.”

As a fan of MOONLIGHT and Jason Dohring, I can only hope that CBS brings back MOONLIGHT after the strike and lets fans continue on the journey of Josef, Mick, Beth and yeah, even Coraline. But if for some reason CBS doesn’t give us more MOONLIGHT, I hope that there’s another show waiting in the wings ready to give Jason Dohring the opportunity to shine.